WEBVTT - How Do Pistol Shrimp Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren boglebaumb here A. Being called a shrimp doesn't exactly

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<v Speaker 1>make you known for having sizeable strength or an intimidating presence,

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<v Speaker 1>but there are a few weird wonders of the sea

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<v Speaker 1>that crush that stereotype of in dramatic ways. We've talked

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<v Speaker 1>on the show before about the mantis shrimp, but today

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<v Speaker 1>we're tackling the pistol shrimp. It's so powerful that it

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<v Speaker 1>not only shoots and annihilates its prey, it's thrown the

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<v Speaker 1>US Navy off track and even helped researchers make strides

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<v Speaker 1>and finding clean sources of energy. A pistol shrimp, also

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<v Speaker 1>known as stabbing shrimp, earn their sea cred by creating

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<v Speaker 1>something that's seemingly innocuous bubbles. But these definitely aren't your

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<v Speaker 1>ordinary bubbles. When they collapse, they make a sound louder

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<v Speaker 1>than a gun and generate massive amounts of heat. A

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<v Speaker 1>pistol shrimp shoot these deadly bubbles to kill prey a

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<v Speaker 1>jackhammer and to rock to create burrows, or to protect

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<v Speaker 1>said burrows from other shrimp. They have no need for

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<v Speaker 1>a fancy holster or to stock up on AMMO. Their

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<v Speaker 1>weapon is built right into their one oversized snapper claw,

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<v Speaker 1>which can grow to be half the size of their

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<v Speaker 1>tiny body. There are actually hundreds of species of these

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<v Speaker 1>shrimp within the larger family of snapping shrimp, which live

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<v Speaker 1>all over the world, mostly in tropical to temperate saltwater environments,

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<v Speaker 1>where they can burrow into rocks or reefs or hide

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<v Speaker 1>among sea grass. They tend to be just an inch

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<v Speaker 1>or too long, about three to five centimeters, and have

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<v Speaker 1>one claw much larger than the other, though it can

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<v Speaker 1>be either claw left or right. The monstrous sound that

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<v Speaker 1>they make isn't actually caused by the parts of the

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<v Speaker 1>claw impacting each other. As the shrimp open their large

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<v Speaker 1>snapper claw, water fills the small crook inside. Upon closing

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<v Speaker 1>the claw with impressive force, a plunger like piece shoots

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<v Speaker 1>the water out. It speeds as fast as a car

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<v Speaker 1>traveling down the highway, as some sixty miles or one

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<v Speaker 1>hundred kilometers an hour. It's so fast that it creates

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<v Speaker 1>an area of pressure so low that a void or

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<v Speaker 1>bubble of water vapor forms within the liquid water. That

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<v Speaker 1>bubble quickly collapses, creating a flash of light and of heat,

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<v Speaker 1>reaching some eight thousand degrees of fahrenheit that's about four thousand,

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<v Speaker 1>five hundred degrees celsius, and creating shockwaves that not only

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<v Speaker 1>stun or kill what's in their path, but make a

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<v Speaker 1>ridiculously loud sound. Those collapsing bubbles have measured in at

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<v Speaker 1>two hundred and eighteen decibels, which is louder than a

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<v Speaker 1>speeding bullet to us humans. The sound isn't actually that loud,

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<v Speaker 1>but that's due to the blast only lasting a tiny

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<v Speaker 1>fraction of a second and being underwater. However, divers and

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<v Speaker 1>snorkelers certainly can hear it. If you've I've had your

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<v Speaker 1>head underwater and heard what sounds a little like the

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<v Speaker 1>snap crackle pop of raised crispies. That's probably been a

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<v Speaker 1>local population of pistol shrimp. It is heavy weaponry, but

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<v Speaker 1>if attacked, pistol shrimp are willing to shed that claw

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<v Speaker 1>in order to live and snap another day and snap again.

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<v Speaker 1>They will. Alike all fellow decapods such as lobsters and crabs,

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<v Speaker 1>pistol shrimp are capable of regrowing lost or damaged limbs

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<v Speaker 1>during their next molt cycle, which is when they shed

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<v Speaker 1>their shell and grow a new, bigger one. While the

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<v Speaker 1>lost claw grows back, their smaller claw will begin to

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<v Speaker 1>transform itself into the large snapper claw of the pair.

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<v Speaker 1>The new one will be a regular, non snapping claw,

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<v Speaker 1>and this gives them a head start in getting back

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<v Speaker 1>on the path to shooting bubbles. That noise that they

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<v Speaker 1>make through an unlikely wrench into the US Navy's defense

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<v Speaker 1>plan during World War Two, the snapping sound began interfering

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<v Speaker 1>with sonar used to detach enemy ships, causing the Navy

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<v Speaker 1>to bring in researchers from the University of California Division

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<v Speaker 1>of War Research. Luckily, they sorted out the source and

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<v Speaker 1>recorded the shrimp's sounds to train so inar operators to

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<v Speaker 1>recognize them as sea denizens rather than enemies. While that

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<v Speaker 1>was admittedly troublesome, the sound created by pistol shrimp usually

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<v Speaker 1>reflects the good health of a coral reef because lots

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<v Speaker 1>of them hunting means lots of life and a balanced ecosystem.

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<v Speaker 1>The noise can also help other sea creatures navigate the sea.

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<v Speaker 1>Many species of pistol shrimp living clusters likely is a

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<v Speaker 1>form of protection, and a few species work together with

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<v Speaker 1>other types of animals. A pistol shrimp are known to

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<v Speaker 1>give gobies, a type of small fish, a place to

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<v Speaker 1>live in exchange for help watching out for danger. And

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<v Speaker 1>pistol shrimp are also helping researchers who are working towards

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<v Speaker 1>creating fusion reactors. Okay, A fusion is the process that

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<v Speaker 1>powers our Sun and other stars aware in small or

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<v Speaker 1>atoms smashed together to create larger atoms plus energy. A

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<v Speaker 1>fusion has the potential to provide clean, safe energy, enough

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<v Speaker 1>of it that we humans could seriously cut our dependence

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<v Speaker 1>on polluted fossil fuels and sometimes hazardous nuclear power, and

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<v Speaker 1>bring cheap electricity to all corners of the Earth. The

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<v Speaker 1>potential is awesome, but we haven't figured out quite how

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<v Speaker 1>to make it work efficiently. But we're talking about shrimp.

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<v Speaker 1>A team out of England has taken inspiration from pistol shrimp.

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<v Speaker 1>They're working with a type of fusion reaction called inertial

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<v Speaker 1>confinement fusion. This type uses powerful shock waves to compress

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<v Speaker 1>and heat a bit of fuel so much and so

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<v Speaker 1>quickly that fusion occurs before the fuel can blow apart.

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<v Speaker 1>So the researchers got the idea that the type of

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<v Speaker 1>bubble creation and collapse that happens when a pistol shrimp

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<v Speaker 1>shoots could represent a small scale version of a way

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<v Speaker 1>to create that heat and pressure necessary to kickstart fusion

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<v Speaker 1>in a bit of fuel. Basically, I'm not an expert

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<v Speaker 1>and physics is complicated, so yes, these gun coding invertebrates

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<v Speaker 1>are a standout under the sea and everywhere. Whether they're

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<v Speaker 1>shooting the enemy or playing nice with their allies, they're

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<v Speaker 1>one of nature's loudest and most fascinating critters. The next

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<v Speaker 1>time you're in tropical waters, dip down and enjoy the

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<v Speaker 1>sounds of the curious crackling chorus. Today's episode is based

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<v Speaker 1>on the article pistol shrimp the fastest gun in the

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<v Speaker 1>Sea on HowStuffWorks dot com, written by Katiecarmen. The brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how stuffworks

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<v Speaker 1>dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more

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